Atmosphere of Pressure: Union of Concerned Scientists Finds Widescale Political Interference in Global Warming Research

The issue of global warming has been in the news a lot recently. Just yesterday, an international team of scientists declared the global warming debate over and presented a detailed report to the United Nations to combat global climate change. The panel recommended pouring billions more dollars into research and development of cleaner energy resources and stated that failure to act would produce turbulent 21st century weather extremes as well as spread drought and disease, expand oceans and displace costal populations.The report - the result of a two- year study- was compiled by an eighteen-member group of scientists representing eleven nations. It comes just weeks after the world’s leading body of climate scientists- the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Environmental Climate Change – concluded that global warming was most likely caused by human activity and may be impossible to stop.

Also yesterday, a group of developing nations known as the Group of 77 said wealthy countries must take responsibility for causing climate change instead of laying the blame on others. Munir Akram, Pakistan’s UN ambassador and chairman of the Group of 77 said that though emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are increasing in booming Asian countries like China and India “most of the environmental degradation has historically been caused by the industrial world.”

Francesca Grifo and Brenda Ekwurzel join me now.

Francesca Grifo. Head of the Union of Concerned Scientists scientific integrity program.

Brenda Ekwurzel. Climate Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

There follows a conversation between Ms. Grifo, Ms. Ekwurzel and Amy Goodman. Democracy Now! almost always has excellence in it's reporting.